Little Birds
by TheTacticianAlchemist
Summary: "Could you do a follow-up prompt of the twins Ren and Robin, when they're like 12 and they decided to ask Chrom what happened to Robin and why she's not with them?" [follow-up to "Fly Away." from my blog chrobinprompts.]


_Another thing from my blog chrobinprompts. An anon asked, "_Could you do a follow-up prompt of the twins Ren and Robin, when they're like 12 and they decided to ask Chrom what happened to Robin and why she's not with them?_" Contains OCs, kinda. Follow up of "Fly Away."_

* * *

Little Birds

Chrom expected his five children to grow up quite differently.

He expected them to grow up with a mother.

When Lucina married Inigo, Chrom had walked her down the aisle and whispered that her mother's dress was beautiful on her. And about two years later, when she gave birth to a daughter, she had to convince everyone that she wasn't going to die from her child. And she didn't.

When Morgan married Severa, just a year ago now, he'd been the picture of happiness and joy even though he cried the night before about how his mother couldn't be there. And then, just a few months later, Morgan came sobbing to his father in the middle of the night, terrified that he would kill his wife in nine month's time.

Luci is not of marriageable age yet. She's just shy of sixteen. Only her face and eyes are reminiscent of Lucina's when the future-born woman had been the same age. Her stature has turned out to be a little bit shorter and stockier, reminding Chrom of Robin. Luci keeps her blue hair short. She practices magic - thunder, to be specific.

And finally, there are the twins.

()()()

"How are my little birds doing today?" Chrom asks, grabbing little Robin and lifting her in the air, spinning her around. She's ten, almost eleven, growing bigger by the day, and he's only in his early-thirties but he's afraid of the day when he won't be able to pick her up anymore.

"I told you, Father," Ren says above his sister's giggles. "I'm not a 'wren'!"

"You are to me." Chrom puts Robin back down on the playroom floor and grabs his son before the boy can escape. "You're always up so early." He tickles Ren's tummy. "Always chattering."

"S-stop!" Ren insists, but he's laughing. "Stop, Father!"

Chrom relents, chuckling still. "All right, all right."

"Father, Father!" Robin runs off, but returns a moment later clutching her training sword. "Frederick taught me how to parry!"

"Did he, now?" Chrom smiles and ruffles her snowy hair. "And have you been keeping up with your magic training, too?"

"Um." Robin's face falls a little. "Miriel says I need to train more…."

"I don't want you to neglect your training, okay?" Chrom kisses her forehead, but she still looks a little off-put.

Ren watches the exchange, his blue eyes serious. Then he nearly shouts, "Father, watch Robin and me fight!" as he runs to get his own training sword.

Chrom chuckles. "Okay, but we have to go outside. I don't want you breaking anything inside the castle."

"Okay!" the twins chirrup, leading the way out of the playroom on their fast feet.

Chrom smiles and follows them outside to where they face off against each other. The two frown, each holding their swords in a two-handed grip. Ren's is a little off, but Robin's is perfect.

Robin begins the spar, rushing forward. Ren blocks - which is most of what he does in their fights anyways - but when he stabs, Robin flicks her sword and sends his wooden weapon spiraling out of his hand.

Robin jumps up and down, grinning. "See, Father? See? I did it!"

Ren is smiling too as Chrom comes over and ruffles Robin's hair. "Good job, sweetie," he says, kneeling down. He turns to Ren and picks up the boy's training sword. "You have to hold it like this, see? Make sure your hands aren't too close together."

"Okay," Ren says, but he's not smiling anymore.

Chrom opens his mouth to ask what's on his son's mind, but then a raindrop splashes on his nose. He looks up at the grey clouds to find that they're sending down water at an increasing rate.

"Come on, let's go back inside before we get soaked." He extends his cape so that the twins can hide underneath the cloth, and together they go back into the castle.

()()()

Luci looks up from her book. "What is it, Father?"

She's so much like her mother, always in the library (though not once does she read up on tactics like her older future-brother does almost nonstop).

"Do you think you could help Robin with her magic?" he asks.

"Robin?" Luci frowns. "Miriel says that Robin doesn't have the best affinity for magic."

"That's why I want you to help her." He smiles. "You're so great at it."

She rolls her eyes. "Thanks for the flattery, Father."

He laughs. "It's well-deserved."

Luci smiles, but looks away at nothing for a moment. "Father?"

"What is it?"

"…Do you think the twins like me?"

"What?" He sits down in the chair next to her. "Of course they do. Why would you think they wouldn't?"

She shakes her head. "Well…when I learned just how Mother died…for a little while I hated them."

Chrom doesn't know what to say.

"I know now that it's not their fault," Luci says hurriedly. "It's not anyone's fault. But I don't know if they realized how I felt about them, for a while." She's quiet for a minute. "They're going to be followed by Mother for their entire lives. They already are."

()()()

"Father! Father!"

Chrom jolts awake and sits up in his otherwise empty bed. "Ren?!"

The boy has flung the door open; the light in the hallway shines on his wide eyes. "Father, Robin's hurt!"

Chrom leaps out of bed and runs, quickly overtaking his son. Countless scenarios run through his mind, but nothing prepares him for when he gets to the twins' room and finds Robin kneeling on the floor, holding her hands out in front of her like they'll break if she moves them. They're burned.

"Robin!" Chrom kneels beside her. "Robin, what happened?"

She's crying; big, fat tears cascade down her cheeks and onto the tome in her lap. "I - I - practicing - !"

Chrom looks to the doorway, where Ren's standing. "Go find Aunt Lissa!"

Ren nods, then hurries away.

"Sweetie, we're going to get you to the bathroom, okay? Can you stand up?"

Robin nods, still sobbing. Chrom stands and helps her to her feet, then guides her out of the room. He's afraid to pick her up in case he jostles her hands. He gets her to the bathroom, then gets some cool water running in the sink and instructs her to put her hands under it. She whimpers at first, but then starts to relax a little as the pain goes away. Still, Chrom strokes her hair because she's still sniffing and crying.

Lissa comes a few minutes later, clad in her pajamas and clutching her staff. She heals Robin's burns without any problem, then stays to help calm the twins. But then Chrom thanks her and waves her off, and she pats his shoulder before leaving. She gives him a look like she always does.

"Are you okay now?" Chrom asks, picking Robin up and taking her back with Ren in tow.

Robin sniffs and nods. "Uh-huh."

Ren doesn't answer, but his eyes are wide.

Chrom sets Robin down on her bed and crouches down to get to her eye level. "Why were you practicing magic in the middle of the night?"

She hiccups and can't meet his eyes. "I want to get better."

"I know, Robin." He kisses her forehead. "But you have to remember to be careful, okay? And the middle of the night is supposed to be for sleeping."

She nods.

Chrom turns and kisses his son's head, too. "Thanks for coming to get me. You did a good job."

Ren seems a bit more relaxed - and proud - at the praise. "No problem."

Chrom strokes his daughter's hair. "Do you want me to stay with you until you get back to sleep?"

Robin shakes her head. "No…"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, okay…" Chrom kisses both their foreheads again and gets up to leave. "Get some sleep, you two. Let me tuck you in."

()()()

"Morgan." Chrom hugs his future-son. "You can do this. Everything is going to be fine."

"A-are you sure?" Morgan is having some trouble breathing. "I - I don't know if Severa will…"

"Severa is stronger even than you think, Morgan," Lucina says, coming up and joining the embrace. "Soon your biggest worry will be figuring out how to get a baby to stop crying."

Morgan can't help but laugh a little at that. "I - I guess you're right." Still, he squeezes his father before letting go. They wish him good luck, and he heads back into the delivery room to be with his wife.

"He and Severa will be fine, Father," Lucina says quietly, and Chrom can only nod and hope.

They know it'll take long, so they decide to head back to the rest of the family. Inigo is playing with his giggling toddler daughter, and Luci is tickling the little girl's cheeks. Robin and Ren sit on the other side of the room quietly, worriedly. Chrom goes over to them and kneels.

"It's gonna be a while before we meet your new niece or nephew. You two can go play if you want."

Ren looks up at him, but hesitates. Robin stares at the floor.

Chrom frowns. "Is something wrong?"

Robin gets up. "I'm going to the library," she says quietly before hurrying off.

Chrom watches her go, confused. But then Ren says, "Father?"

Apprehension wells in his stomach. "Yes?"

He almost expects Ren to look away, but instead the boy stares straight at him. "Mother died like this, didn't she? For me and Robin."

All of the air in Chrom's lungs leaves him.

"Yes," he says finally.

Ren frowns, his eyes narrowing. "But it's not our fault."

"Of course it isn't." He puts his hand on Ren's shoulder. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't think that. Robin does."

"…She does?"

Tears prick at the corners of Ren's eyes. "Yes, she does." His voice starts to get louder, drawing the attention of their family. "She thinks a lot of things, Father! And you don't care!"

The words hit him like a blow. "What do you mean, Ren? Of course I - !"

"No, you don't!" Ren pulls away from him and stands, balling his hands into fists. "Robin doesn't want to be a mage! She just burned her hands practicing because you want her to! She wants to wield Falchion, like you! I want to be a mage! You just want Robin to be like Mother was!"

Chrom wants to disagree, but he can't speak.

It's the truth. He's just never realized it.

Ren stands there, panting, stubbornly trying to keep his tears in. "Robin - Robin thinks it's her fault Mother isn't here. She's trying to make it up to you."

And the realization hurts.

"Ren…" He pulls his son into a hug. "Thank you for telling me."

Ren doesn't move. "What?"

"I'm…I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"F-Father…"

Chrom lets go of his son and stands. "I'm going to go find your sister."

He hurries off.

()()()

Robin is in the library, poring over a tome. Chrom stands in the doorway, watching her for a moment. She doesn't wear her hair in pigtails - just a ponytail - but still, she looks far too much like her mother.

Chrom closes his eyes.

"Robin?"

His daughter looks up. "Father? What is it?"

Chrom walks in and sits beside her, leaning his elbows on his knees to get more at her eye level. "Robin, why are you studying magic?"

She frowns. "Because it's good to know both magic and sword-fighting."

"Well, I won't argue with that," he says. "But I want to know why you want to study magic."

"Um…" Robin looks down. "I…"

"Robin." Chrom tucks a stray white hair behind her ear. "Do you want to study magic at all? You can tell me."

She hesitates.

"It's all right, Robin."

She lets out a shaky breath. "…I hate magic."

He chuckles. "I don't like it either, myself. I was never, ever good at it."

"But…" Robin shifts in her chair. "Mother was good, wasn't she?"

"The best." His smile turns sad. "But just because your mother was good, doesn't mean you have to be. You're not her."

She looks down. "But you named me after her."

"That's because I wanted you to be a good person, like her. That doesn't mean doing the same things as her, or liking the same things. I want you to be happy, Robin. I'm sorry I caused you to stress." He holds her hand. "I'm sorry. I think I might've been forcing you into magic. I didn't mean to."

Robin blinks, and tears appear in her eyes. "B-but Father… I-I…M-Mother…"

"Robin, your mother did not die because of you or your brother." He takes a breath, because it's taken him years to come to this conclusion: "It's not anyone's fault."

"A-are you…?" Small sobs interrupt her words. "A-are you sure?"

"Very." He takes her into his arms and hugs her tight. She buries her face in his cape. "I miss your mother every day, and I wish she were here to watch you two grow up. But never, ever would I blame you or Ren for her not being here. It…was just her time to leave."

Robin doesn't speak, only cries. Chrom rubs her back, waiting for her to calm.

"She would be very proud of you, you know. You're very good with a sword."

She sniffs. "S-she would?"

"Of course. Proud of your brother, too. And Luci, and Morgan and Lucina." He kisses her cheek. "She loved you so much, so so much. All of you - us."

Robin hugs him back tightly, moving to put her chin on his shoulder. "I wish she were here."

"I do, too." More than he could ever express.

"I… Ren!"

Chrom turns his head around to see his son standing in the doorway. Ren hesitates, but Chrom smiles.

"Come here."

He comes in slowly, and when he's in range, Chrom reaches out to pull him close. Ren squeaks a little, and Chrom laughs.

"You sound like a mouse, not a bird."

"Father!"

He hugs his twins tight. "I love you both very, very much. And I'm sorry that I've made you feel pressured. I want you two to be happy, okay? Whether you want to be mages or swordsmen or travelling performers. I don't care. Okay?"

Finally, the two smile big and bright, and he sees not just his wife in the both of them, but the two of them themselves. "Okay, Father," they chirrup.

()()()

Morgan grins, a little out of breath as he shows his newborn son to his father. "I made this, Father."

Chrom laughs. "I'm proud of you."

Morgan looks down at his son, his eyes filled with reverence. "I made you," he says softly.

Ren and Robin get on their tip-toes, and Morgan shows them their new nephew. He wriggles in Morgan's arms and lets out a wail quite worthy of his mother.

While they're not looking, Chrom lets out a relieved sigh. Then he smiles.

_You're missing so much, Robin. But I think I have things handled…._


End file.
